End of the Road
by RchHghr
Summary: "Did you hear, a man who breathes fire is travelling with the Avatar." Zuko and Katara lock eyes. "Looks like were on the same mission" "Looks like it" Can you band together with your enemy not knowing what is, and to happen to the one you care about travelling also with the enemy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, it's characters or the story in which inspired this story. I am borrowing with the mere intent to only be enjoyed and entertained.

Summary: "Did you hear, a man who breaths fire is travelling with the Avatar." Zuko and Katara lock eyes. "Looks like were on the same mission" "Looks like it"

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Katara POV

Having a room for the night is great, even if it's for just one night. The place is safe and quiet. The window is open with a gentle breeze that dances in every now and then. A gentle mist hangs in the air from a storm that still lingers, weakly around.

The room is too quiet for my ears. My ears make up for it with a minor hum. No sound enters in from the hall. The pillow is soft and the bed comfortable…

And yet I can't sleep. I've been wide awake for a while now and I don't know why. It shouldn't be this hard to fall asleep.

"Katara?"

There is a knock on my door and it is slowly opened.

I sit up.

Toph. She stands in my doorway with Momo hanging from her arm. Her feet are completely bare, and her pants are rolled up past her knees. She has a large bruise on her left shin. I wonder if it bothers her in any way.

"What is it Toph?" I question, concerned.

"It's too quiet here. I need to hear something. Maybe your heavy breathing will do the trick."

"Geez, thanks," I mumble sarcastically.

She gets into bed next to me, but not under the covers. Momo curls his tail around her arm. She keeps one foot down and the other one lightly touches my leg.

Another lone breeze drifts in. Barely. The storm must be giving its last efforts before disappearing completely. Soon not even a noise comes from the outside. I can't even hear any animals. I wonder what is up with that.

After a while she sits up. She scoops Momo up into her arm again. "It's no use. I'm going to sleep with Sokka." She walks out of the room. I listen to her ginger steps down the hall, and even that fades away to too much quiet again. I listen and relax. I breathe. I breathe some more.

I couldn't be more wide awake. Maybe Toph has the right idea. Sokka. Sokka can sleep through anything, and he is the glue that practically holds our campsites together. He knows the best spots to sleep….most of the time.

I guess, at least for Toph and I, or maybe just myself, I'm not used to feeling safe. I mean, we have each other, but to be in a safe shelter is not a luxury we get to enjoy most often. Now that we have it, I don't know what to do with it.

I finally get up and make my way down the hall. In Sokka's room he's laying on the bed but next to him is Toph with Momo, and at the end of the bed curled up is Aang. I guess we all had the same idea.

I smile. We are really close. We all need each other, and to be separated by rooms shouldn't be hard. No one will get dragged off in the middle of the night.

At least, I hope not, Wanted posters of Aang aren't helping either. When people put face to poster they will not stop until they get the reward. It makes our quest harder. We are trying to help the world and half of them will try anything to stop us.

"Just get in!" Sokka snaps.

I smile. I lay on the only available side and shut my eyes. Now I can sleep. Somehow I think we much prefer to be together under the stars, even if none of us will admit it aloud.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zuko POV

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I'm tired of being poor! I'm tired of being dirty, hungry and cold. I'm tired of Uncle enjoying this….this life! This isn't the life we are meant to have! This isn't the life of royalty. We are meant to be clean, eating well and comfortable. I want to be sleeping on bed. I want to have a full belly and I want the respect of my father.

Instead I am in the dirt, no respect and hungry. I hate being hungry. This hollow feeling never goes away and instead grows deeper. This feeling mixes with anger and determination. I will capture the Avatar. I will gain back my honor. I will be welcomed back! Azula will bow down to me.

One day.

The day hasn't even started yet and I am wide awake. I am not ready for another warm day; another hungry day, and another day not knowing what the day will bring, and who it will bring with it.

All I know is these wanted posters, all of these wanted posters: Myself, uncle, 'The Blue Spirit' and the Avatar are making it harder to sneak around, and just plain travel real hard.

Uncle sleeps. I wonder if he thinks the exact same things.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Katara POV

Sitting outside for breakfast Sokka joins Aang, Toph and I at the table with a leaflet in his hand, and a smile on his face. He shows it to me.

"The Mayor of this town is having a party in honor of his tenth child! Everyone is invited! Free food, shows, rides and more, we are definitely not passing this up!" He exclaims digging into his food.

The weather seems to have warmed up quite a bit since the storm. Usually, after a storm the weather cools down a bit, so something tells me eventually we are going to see the return of some more storms.

"I don't see nothing wrong in that. It's quiet around here. No one has recognized us, and we haven't seen any Fire Nation Soldiers around. Aang?"

"Sounds like fun," Aang agrees, "It'll be fun to mingle and have some fun. Plus, we can learn a lot more about this town and the ways Earth Bending helped to establish it. Plus, who knows, maybe we'll learn something we haven't seen before."

I can't help but notice that Toph hasn't said anything. She sits and eats distantly. Usually she puts her 'strong' opinion up front.

"You okay?" I question quietly.

"Yup," she agrees emptily. She gets up and wanders off. My eyes go to Aang and Sokka. Sokka shrugs. "She doesn't like parties. Maybe she has two left feet, or something."

I don't think that's it. I don't know if she heard the comment or not, but there is definently nothing wrong with her feet. They will be forever dirty, but even so, if someone should mention a comment about her, she'd put them in their place. I don't think she heard, or she's being unusually generous.

I check on Appa again to make sure he doesn't need anything more to eat before I go in search of her. It's not hard to find her. She's put herself on a pedestal with her chin in her hands.

"Toph," I call up to her.

"Yeah?" she questions dully. She doesn't move. I know she could feel me coming from a mile away.

"Can you come down here so I can talk to you? Otherwise I want to come up there." I really don't.

In a quick motion the ground under my feet rises up and I am level with her. I don't want to keep looking down, but I'm up high and there's nothing else around. There's really nowhere else to put my attention because I can't make eye contact with her.

But she wants to still keep talking to me, so who should I be to complain?

"You didn't have anything to say? Are you not excited about the party tonight?"

"No," she says curtly. "Why is someone throwing a party to brag about their tenth child? That is nothing to brag about. They're just screaming bags of drew."

I know what this is about. Her. Her parents didn't even mention her existence. Now, with someone bragging about their tenth she is filled with jealousy. Anger. Hate.

"It's just a party," I try to reassure her, "We'll have fun, eat and mingle with people who do not know who we are. It will be a short night with just enough time to have a 'mini' vacation."

She brings both of us back to the ground. She shrugs. "I have a bad feeling about this. You have no idea just how many people are coming to this town tonight." She walks away after that. I know she doesn't go too far, just down to the river, and she puts her feet in the water.

I'll just give her time to herself. I inform the other two quietly. She just needs to be alone. There's really nothing to say to affirm her. She knows we care, even if her parents never did. We are a family, and we will stick together no matter what. We cannot really tell people of who we are, or "be" important to other people without too much attention being put on us. The attention, majority wise, is not the good kind, and it can get us captured, or killed. We just have to know how much each of us is important to one another.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zuko's POV

Disclaimer is still the same! Enjoy!

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Uncle has nightmares sometimes. He won't say it aloud, but I see it. He tosses and turns. He breaks out in a cold sweat. Uncle usually sits up quickly in the middle of the night, he'll look around and sit there watching the fire he has relit. It usually takes him a very long time to fall back asleep.

I know that he is staring into the fire and reliving old memories tonight. He doesn't know that I know. He thinks I'm asleep, but I'm waiting for him to break out of his memory and go back to sleep.

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"Nephew, would you look at this," Uncle says handing me a leaflet during breakfast, "the mayor in the town down the way is holding a festival in honor of his tenth child."

"I am not a child! I don't need to attend a festival. We need to find the Avatar! I want to go home!"

"Zuko, you need to relax. It's going to be a festival filled with music, food and beautiful ladies. Maybe you'll find a girlfriend." He winks at me. He knows he can charm any lady. He has always been like that. He never has trouble finding the company of a lady for a time.

"I don't need a girlfriend!" I bark. I keep my fire contained. Even though it has rained last night I'm sure I'd still create a forest fire.

I stand up. "I need a walk."

"Zuko, just give it some thought. I'm sure by tonight, when you see the lights, the people and hear the music you will forget your troubles and enjoy yourself."

As if it was that easy. Of course I will go with him. He will enjoy himself, and because of that, I will be happy.

For him.


End file.
